George Lucas chooses Chicago over California as the site of his museum

Star Wars creator George Lucas has selected Chicago as the future home of his collection of art and movie memorabilia, opting for Illinois over Los Angeles and San Francisco. Pending approval from the city’s planning commission, Lucas’s institution (which is currently in the process of voting on a name change from the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art) will be built on parking lots near Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.

Just as his brainchild the Death Star can move from planet to planet, so too has Lucas traveled from city to city. The announcement comes after the Presidio Trust in San Francisco rejected a $700 million proposal by Lucas to build the museum on prime bayside parkland in February. Lucas is a native of Modesto, Calif. and has built his career in San Francisco, though he recently married Chicago native Mellody Hobson and now lives there part-time.

“George Lucas has revolutionized the art of storytelling over the last four decades,” Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement, ”and we are honored to be the recipient of this incredible legacy investment that will allow everyone to learn about and experience narrative arts.”